Wisdom's Well offers 2-4 hour presentations, full day workshops and overnight retreats. Events are offered at various locations in the Upper Midwest. Individual spiritual guidance is available from our experienced staff.

OUR MISSION
Wisdom's Well serves to support those who desire to grow spiritually, seek inner wisdom, and yearn for a transformative spirituality.

Grounded in the Christian tradition, while embracing the wisdom found in other religious traditions, we offer resources for the journey through spiritual guidance, educational programs, retreats, and the teaching of contemplative practices.

Our vision is to provide companionship for the spiritual journey, helping others live a balanced life of contemplation and action as members of our sacred Earth community.

Welcome to Wisdom's Well and this new year of 2015
– our ninth year in existence!

We're glad you've found us on the Web---and we look forward to meeting you in person at some of our upcoming programs, held at a variety of venues throughout the Madison area.

As you scroll down this page you will see a number of images:
• a photo of Lynn, who no longer serves on our staff but will offer part two of a program she began
last year
• the likeness of teacher and guide, Thomas Merton, who will give us cause to celebrate, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth on January 31
• images of a blazing tree, a wooded path, candle light – all of which remind us of our founding vision: to companion each other on the journey of life, reverencing our sacred Earth community … our only home.

Lynn shares these words with us in reflecting on the phenomenon in Nature of the Solstice:

Since 12/21/14 at 5:03 PM, Earth has begun “ever so slight movement toward the sun from its most remote stretch. That precise extreme mirrors its summer solstice companion. They are symbolic echoes of our human and planetary experiences of life, which take up the rhythm of a pendulum swing: turning toward light in the widest reach we can generate and before you know it, heading into the darkness with the deepest plunge of which we are capable. It’s a pulse which throbs in all of us together, as one. … these two extremes infringe on one another … they contain each other (just as we do)….” So let us “welcome variety … invite novelty … greet diversity … relish and share life.”

Being Faith-filled Citizens,part TWO

(part One not required)

Four February sessions based on Parker Palmer’s, book, Healing the Heart of Democracy, Ch. 5-8

Faith-filled citizens participate in an on-going process of speaking out and listening up with honesty and care. How can we gather heart-to-heart, even if we don’t see eye-to-eye? Come and see . . . and bring a friend!

Centering Prayer is a simple, meditative form of prayer with roots in the monastic and mystical traditions of the Christian faith. Based on the teachings and practices of Fr. Thomas Keating and Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, these series of 6 classes each will look to Christian meditation as a means of transforming consciousness.

Classes will begin again in January, 2015. Register now to hold your place!

As an on-going piece of our ministry, Wisdom's Well offers bi-annual gatherings for those serving as Spiritual Guides (Directors) in Madison and the surrounding area. Our purpose in these gatherings is to offer on-going education as well as support for those who have been called to serve as Holy Listeners. If you are currently serving as a Spiritual Guide, you are invited to join us at our next gathering.

Only when the mind is “in the heart,” grounded and tethered in that deeper wellspring of spiritual awareness, is it possible to live the teachings of Jesus without hypocrisy or burnout. The gospel requires a radical openness and compassion that are beyond the capacity of the anxious, fear-ridden ego.
- Reverend Cynthia Bourgeault

Following the Benedictine rhythm of ora et labora (prayer and work),this 4-day retreat will offer an introductory immersion into Wisdom Work. Silence, small group teachings, instruction in spiritual practices, and group meditation will provide the framework to introduce retreatants to the Christian contemplative tradition.